Homo erectus may have evolved in eastern Asia sometime after Homo ergaster migrated into the area close to two million years ago. Although the vast continent of Asia is perhaps the most poorly known in terms of paleoanthropology, it does seem as though both biological evolution and cultural change proceeded at a snail's pace there during this time period. The 27,000 year old previously noted Homo erectus found at Ngandong in Java is not really different from earlier fossils of the same species, and through most of the 2 million years, Oldowan-like chopping tools continued to be made, even though handaxes were found at some sites after about .5 mya. Throughout their reign in east Asia, H.erectus may have also been using more complex tools manufactured from bamboo, as discussed in the text. They were probably competent foragers, and survived with little physical evolution for almost 2 million years. However, by those who accept that H.ergaster and H.heidelbergensis are distinct species from H.erectus, the species that was long accepted as a human ancestor is viewed as another evolutionary dead-end.
Homo erectus
After Europe's initial occupation (either H.antecessor at more than 1 mya, or more than 700,000 years ago with Homo heidelbergensis) a number of sites are found associated with Achuelean tools. By 200,000 years ago a distinctive hominin appears, associated with sites all over Europe and into southwestern Asia. Known as Neandertal, this hominin was first discovered in 1856, and was really the first evidence that humans have evolved. One of his distinctive physical traits is a large cranial capacity, averaging 1500 c.c.'s, more than the average for modern H.sapiens of about 1400 c.c's.
From the initial discoveries, Neandertal has been a controversial fossil in paleoanthropology. Biologically there are more fossils, and more complete ones, of Neandertals than any other hominin. Archaeologically, his culture is as well known as the one which followed him in Europe. Yet even today there is no complete agreement on his evolutionary position. Eventually classified as a subspecies (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), most today consider him a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis.
Neandertal
A distinctive flaking technology and tool kit made its appearance in Europe at around 250,000 years ago, and quickly became characteristic of all archaeological sites up to about 38,000 years ago, most of which are definitely Neandertal sites. The flaking technology is known as Levallois, and the tool kit as Mousterian. Levallois flakes required special preparation of a core, which from which a thin triangular shaped flake could be detached. These flakes were then modified as tools, including a point which could have been hafted to a wooden spear point, although there is no actual evidence that this was done. These tools, and Mousterian culture generally, are the classic Middle Paleolithic culture, and are specifically identified with Neandertal. (See the text for more on the Middle Paleolithic.)
A Reconstruction of a Neandertal from Iran
There is every reason to believe that Neandertal was a competent hunter, although gathering may have been seasonally important. Scavenging may also have been practiced. Recent chemical tests of two Neandertals that may be as recent as 28,000 ya indicate that their diet was almost entirely animal protein. Reindeer was a favored animal, according to some archaeological evidence, and mammoth may have been hunted.
Although some Neandertal sites contain human burials (a first for hominins), there are other sites where the Neandertal bones are simply found with the rest of the kitchen garbage. At a couple of these sites, there appear to be cut marks on the Neandertal remains, indicating that long bones were disarticulated, and in one case an attempt was made to break open the femur with a hammerstone. Other bones show signs of defleshing. Such evidence may well indicate cannibalism, although other interpretations are possible.
At least some Neandertal sites are burials, and also appear to contain grave goods in the form of stone artifacts. One grave in Iraq had large quantities of pollen in the soil around the bones, which may indicate an offering of flowers, although again other interpretations are possible. One famous burial is of a male individual, about 40 years old when he died, who had a withered right arm from childhood, and a serious but healed head injury. This has been interpreted to mean that Neandertals lived in social groups which could take care of sick or disabled individuals.
The size of such a social group was probably quite small. Neandertals did use rock shelters and the mouths of caves for shelter, but they also built open-air shelters and tents. Most sites have hearths, indicating that fire use was typical, but all the sites are small, indicating only a few people lived there at the same time.
Communication ability is unknown, although many have attempted to prove that, on the basis of the base of the cranium and the position of the tongue and larynx, Neandertals were not capable of modern language. Others have argued just as vigorously that Neandertals did have a verbal form of symbolic communication, noting the modern position of his hyoid bone, and the size of the brain, including areas devoted to speech. New research on the Neandertal genome has indicated the presence of a specific gene associated with speech capability in modern humans, the Fox P2 gene. (The presence of this gene, which must have appeared as a mutation in Homo heidelbergensis, the common ancestor of H. sapiens and the Neandertals, also raises the question of the communication abilities of that species.)
The main evidence for religion comes from the burials and presumed grave goods. In addition, one incised bone plaque has been found in Germany, though its date of 330,000 ya makes it pre-Neandertal. In a few sites pierced teeth and small bones have been found, perhaps for use as pendants.
Culturally, the Neandertals appear to have been able to survive well into the last glacial advance of the Pleistocene, which started some 55,000 years ago. Many of their physical traits, particularly their thick bones, heavy muscles, large noses and large maxillary sinuses (which gave them their "puffy" cheeks) have been interpreted as adaptations to extreme cold (although these traits may be due to genetic drift). From 55,000 years ago, they were living in an extremely cold arctic or north temperate environment, as the continental glaciers reached their maximum extent in the late Pleistocene. As noted in a future lesson, the Neandertals aappear to have been replaced by Homo sapiens, although for a brief time period in southwest Asia (the Middle East) there was probably some interbreeding. (See lesson on MtDNA)
While culture-bearing hominins lived throughout much of Asia and Europe, the most important events in our story of emerging humanity were probably once again taking place in Africa.